Sollenberger: Vote 'yes' on ballot question 5A

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In less than four weeks, registered voter property owners in the Lake Dillon Fire Protection District (LDFPD) will be asked to approve a 0.741 mill-levy property-tax increase, the first such request from the District in 11 years. The reasons are numerous, and have been well-documented in both the Summit Daily and in TABOR-mandated comments supporting ballot question 5A. As a retired career naval officer and a former volunteer firefighter and paramedic in Fairfax County, Va., please allow me to add yet another reason, one so aptly stated in the updated 1998 introduction to his 1972 book, "Report from Engine Co. 82" by Dennis Smith:

"They are regular human beings, like you or your neighbor. But something separates them from the norm, something I hope you'll discover in the pages of this book. In the end, what is most admirable about firefighters is their reliability: When they are called, they come."